Fire and Fjords
by Cats070911
Summary: Winston hatches a scheme to bring Tommy and Barbara together. Will it work?


**Author's note**: all usual disclaimers apply.

* * *

Winston Nkata wrapped his arms around his bride. "This time tomorrow we will be Mister and Missus."

"Ja. It is hard to believe I will be Ece Nkata. And your friends have come all this way to celebrate."

Winston snuggled closer. "Well, Barbara was not happy about Tromso. I half expect her not to come."

"It is tradition. My family might live in Bath now, but I was always expected to marry in the church of my ancestors and on the same date. Besides, your Barbara will enjoy her time here."

"Was I evil? Did we go too far?"

"Nei. Sometimes people need a little bit of pushing."

Winston laughed. "I don't think I want to think about them pushing, thank you."

* * *

Tommy was glad he wore his leather gloves lined with the finest rabbit fur. His fingers felt snug, and warm. Barbara by contrast was obviously suffering in her thick woollen gloves which let in the breeze. She stood on the wharf beside him, cursing, stamping her feet up and down, and blowing warm air into the fist she made of her hands.

"Effing Tromso. Who gets married here? And this is summer? All I can say is my room had better have a good heating source. If they've booked some ice hotel, I'm flying home."

Tommy smiled. "The invitation says we will be picked up and transported to the Sortbotn Scenic Hotell by speedboat."

"Sore bottom? I'm sure it will be. If it hasn't frozen off, it'll bump over the waves. I'll probably be seasick. It most likely is worse, an old wooden fishing boat that stinks of herring."

Tommy laughed. "You are being a little melodramatic, Sergeant."

"I'm being cold. I don't like being cold."

He put his arm around her and pulled her against him. "Try some body heat."

She gave a slight struggle before nestling against him. "With all your duck down coats, I bet you're warm."

"I am not freezing, if that's your point of comparison. We should buy you a better coat tomorrow."

"_We_ can't afford it when _we_ don't need it at home."

"A gift?"

Barbara snorted. "No."

"Okay, freeze then."

"Maybe, okay... if it's no warmer," she mumbled.

Tommy offered a quick prayer for a blizzard. "My money is not your enemy."

"I know."

He squeezed her shoulders. "I am not your enemy."

"Yeah, I know that too. Where's this bloody boat?"

* * *

The hotel was perched precariously at the top of a steep cliff overlooking the spectacular fjord. Grey rocks protruded at odd intervals from a mass of white snow that covered the land almost to the midnight blue waterline. Small dots of white looked like styrofoam that had been broken up and thrown in the fjord.

"Are they icebergs?" Barbara asked.

"Yes."

"In salt water? See it's miserably cold."

"We are inside the Arctic Circle."

"I know. We are mad. Flying here for three days just to watch a wedding that could have happened in a nice Jane Austen inspired ceremony in Bath. Why the hell did Winston decide to marry a Norwegian?"

"Because he loves her. She can't help it that her family come from here. It is gorgeous."

"Yeah well, right now I just want my room."

"Ah, there's Winston now," he said pointing to a figure in a green anorak trimmed with black fur.

Barbara looked up. "Winston. Over here."

Winston smiled and walked towards them. "Sorry about the weather. Seems we have an unexpected polar wind."

"Are the rooms heated?" Barbara asked.

"Of course."

"Then show me to mine so I can thaw out."

"Ah..."

Barbara narrowed her eyes but raised one eyebrow. "Ah?"

Winston laughed. "There was a slight language issue. We are one room short, so I thought if you two have shared a caravan, you could share a room."

Barbara looked pleadingly at Tommy who simply rolled his eyes. He had suspected Winston might do something like this as he had been encouraging Tommy to pay more attention to Barbara. It was not hard to guess his constable's motives for making them share.

"We'll manage," he said noting the relief on Winston's face. Tommy looked at Barbara. "How difficult can it be?"

Barbara snorted then shrugged. "Fine."

* * *

The room was both larger and cosier than Tommy had imagined. Built on the edge of the sheer cliff face, one entire wall was glass overlooking the view. Blonde Baltic pine walls and a light brown stone floor made the definitions of the long room soft, almost fluid. A large ovoid metal fireplace hung from the ceiling near the centre of the room. There was no sofa or chairs, only two piles of luxuriant white fur cushions on animals skins between the fire and the window. It was romantic. Winston was a devil.

"I hope those cushions aren't polar bear fur."

Her words jolted Tommy back to reality. "I am sure they are not."

Barbara bent over in front of him to feel them. Tommy closed his eyes. The sight was far too tempting.

"Nah, sheepskin."

"Good," he croaked, then coughed to hide the strain in his voice.

The bathroom was not actually a room. It was separated from the living space only by two steps. The huge round bath was carved from a single block of stone. Perched slightly higher again, it had a clear view through the lounge area to the fjord. Next to it was a large, open shower bay. Thankfully, a door gave privacy to what Tommy assumed was the toilet.

"Not very private. We will have to shower in shifts."

"That sounds as if you had planned to shower together. There's plenty of room for that."

"No. I meant..."

Tommy watched the colour rise in her neck and throat before flushing her face. "I know, Barbara. I was just teasing."

"Hmm. Where's the bedroom?"

"Down here," Tommy walked behind a half-height division and looked at the bed. In reality, it was more of a sleeping platform with an enormous mattress covered by large animal skins.

"Where's the second bed?"

Tommy turned to his sergeant. "There appears to be only one."

"Humph. And everything is so open like a... a..."

"Viking longhouse?"

"If Vikings didn't have walls, then yeah."

"Longhouses often housed several fam..." Tommy saw her expression change, so stopped talking.

Barbara continued to stare at the bed. "It's big enough to share without... disturbing each other."

"Yes. Good job I remembered my pyjamas," he joked trying to make light of the fact they would share a bed, even if it was far too big to find any excuse to snuggle.

"Let me guess. Navy silk with white piping and a monogrammed TL on the pocket."

He noticed her shift in mood. There was almost a playfulness that replaced her initial shock. "No, grey cotton. They're from John Lewis, and I don't think they have a pattern. I'll bet yours have little cartoon animals all over them."

Barbara arched one eyebrow. "I'm not seven. Actually, I don't wear pyjamas."

Tommy swallowed. A fleeting image of Barbara naked on the animal skins flashed across his eyes. "Mmmmm."

A smile spread slowly across her face. "Oh, don't panic. I wear an oversized t-shirt."

"I wasn't panicking at all."

She bit her lip. "I need dinner."

* * *

They had arrived too late to be served in the main dining room, so Winston had arranged for them to dine with he and Ece in their suite. The Honeymoon suite was twice the size of the room Tommy and Barbara were seating and had its own dining area with a magnificent view down the fjord.

"There were two humpback whales frolicking last night," Winston told them as they stood on the stone balcony sipping champagne.

"It is so wonderful you could both join us," Ece said, "Winnie loves working with you both."

Tommy smiled at Barbara. "He does? We are not always, shall we say, the easiest team to work with."

"No, but you are the most passionate. Winston says that you two are so passionate that... ow." Ece looked at Winston. "Why did you kick me?"

"Let's not talk about work," Winston said. "How was your flight?"

* * *

Back in their room, Barbara went to the window and watched the fjord below while Tommy stoked the fire.

"It's surprisingly peaceful here, Sir," she said as he joined her, and they stood watching the ice bobbing with the waves as the wind began to pick up.

"It is. So peaceful that maybe you could call me by my name and not my rank."

"Sir is not a rank. I don't run around calling you Detective Inspector all the time."

"True, but Tommy is much easier to say."

"Not really. Tommy has two syllables. Sir only has one."

"Tom only has one."

"Tom? I can't call you Tom."

"Why not? It's a common diminutive of Thomas."

"Because you're not a Tom. You're a Tommy."

"Good. That's settled. So you will call me Tommy while we are here?"

"No."

"Have it your own way." He turned and walked towards the toilet.

"No, wait. I'm sorry."

He turned. "Really?"

She gave him a sheepish grin. "I'm sorry... Tommy."

His heart seized. It felt like a cramp deep in his chest. For the briefest moment, he thought he might die of a heart attack.

"Sir? Tommy? Are you okay?"

His heart resumed its normal function, and he realised he had held his breath. He nodded. "It... it was just unexpected."

Barbara started to laugh. "I thought you might die of shock."

"So did I." They both started giggling like naughty school kids. "Say it again."

"What and risk you dying? Never."

"Please?"

"No. Now weren't you going to the loo?"

He nodded and turned. He knew from bitter experience when not to push his luck. "I won't be long."

"Don't use all the toilet paper... Tommy."

* * *

A few minutes later he rejoined her, standing behind her at the window. He wanted to slip his arms around her waist and rest his chin on her head, but that went way beyond what was acceptable in the circumstances. He had just won a long battle for her to call him by name. That had only taken eight years. He imagined intimate physical contact might take decades. He sighed at the thought of waiting.

"What's wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking about being here with you."

"And that made you sigh in desperation?"

"No. Well, not in that way. I was sighing because... I... it's beautiful here and we only have a few days, and I would like to spend longer here with you."

"Oh." Barbara turned to look at him. "Yeah, it is a good break from reality."

"This is still reality." He put his hand on her shoulder and stepped closer. "Very real."

"This long twilight is nice."

"Yes, it is. Barbara... I?"

"Mmm? I wonder what Ece was going to say before Winston cut her off?"

Tommy closed his eyes and inwardly cursed Winston. "I don't know."

"Something about us being passionate."

"I was trying to be."

"Sorry?"

Tommy moved away and lowered himself onto one of the piles of soft cushions. "Will you sit with me?"

"Yeah..."

"I won't bite. I just want to... sit quietly for a while."

Barbara raised her eyebrow and gave him one of her quizzical 'what aren't you telling me' looks. She flopped onto the other pile of cushions. Obviously uncomfortable, she knelt up and rearranged them next to his pile. She stretched out her legs and lay down with her head almost in his lap, her faced turned to the view.

"That's a good idea. Do you mind if I... lie too?"

"Course not."

Tommy swivelled and brought his legs around behind hers. With their bodies roughly parallel, he only needed to move forward a few inches and they would have been spooning, but with his much longer torso, his head was beyond hers so he too had a clear view of the bay. In his peripheral vision, he could see the orangey glow of the fire.

"This is cosy," he said as he wriggled his shoulders into a more comfortable place.

"Yeah, I guess it is." When she leant back to look at him, her hair tickled his chin. It smelt of sea salt from the speedboat ride and lemon from her shampoo.

"Barbara?"

"Mmmm?"

"Do you ever dream of doing this?"

She turned her face towards him. "What? Dream of lying on fake polar bears cushions by a nice fire looking out at a Norwegian fjord? All the time." She gave a soft chuckle clearly amused with her answer.

"I meant lying with me."

"Oh." A flash of panic crossed her eyes before they narrowed. Blood rushed to her cheeks giving them a rather sexy glow. Tommy watched her swallow slowly.

"Well? You didn't answer my question."

Barbara hesitated then took a breath. "All the time."

He put his hand on her waist unsure which of them he was trying to reassure. "So do I."

Her eyes relaxed. The green dissipated as her pupils opened. "You do?"

"Mmm. I also dream of kissing you."

"Ohhh, I... mmmhuh."

He leant closer. "Was that yes, I would like that? Or oh hell, what do I do now?"

"A little of both."

He smiled then leant forward. He stopped just short of her lips wanting saviour the moment, but it came quickly when her mouth found him.

The kiss was over too soon. It was chaste and pure and loving. His blood caught fire throughout his body. His arms encircled her and pulled her closer as his lips sought hers, this time with urgency and desire. Tommy was relieved when Barbara rolled towards him and kissed him with equal vigour.

Hands tugged shirts from jeans and fumbled with zippers as they kept kissing. "Should we slow down?" he asked as he kicked off his shoes and pulled her on top of him.

"Probably. Do you want to stop?"

"Stop? No, but I want to make love to you slowly. Show you that this is not just the romance of the fire and the fjord."

"Yeah... I..." Barbara did not finish her sentence. Instead, her hand slipped into his open zip.

* * *

Tommy cuddled Barbara in his arms. "That was..."

"Long overdue."

He laughed. "Yes, it was. Next time I promise it will be slow and... less furious."

Barbara traced a circle on his naked chest. "I don't remember objecting to furious."

"If I recall you instigated it."

"Winston told Ece we were passionate. I guess he knew more than we did."

Tommy nodded as he pushed some hair behind her ears. "He's a good detective. He knows I am in love with you. Have been for years."

"Say it, Tommy."

"Say what? I love you? Oh, Barbara, I do." He kissed her forehead. "I love you. I love you so much..."

"Too much?"

"No. How can it ever be too much? Unless..."

"No unless. I love you, Tommy." She stroked her cheek. "I. Love. You."

He grinned at her. It felt goofy, and he knew he looked totally besotted, but he could not care less. "Let me show you how much I love you."

"Should we take a bath?"

Tommy grinned at her. That was a wonderful excuse to caress her body and begin to discover its secrets. "What a wonderful suggestion. A nice bath before bed."

"Mmm, bed." She grinned at him. "Which side do you want to sleep on?"

He smiled. "Oh, I should warn you, I'm not intending to sleep, my love."

"Good. Neither am I."


End file.
